The NSW Government Initiative to Reward Container Recycling

The NSW container deposit scheme, Return and Earn, began rolling out across NSW on 1 December 2017 and everyone has a role to play. Drink container litter makes up 44% of the volume of all litter in the state and costs more than $162 million to manage. Return and Earn is the largest litter reduction scheme introduced in NSW, and will help meet the Premier's goal of reducing the volume of litter in the state by 40% by 2020.

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Features of Return and Earn include:

• Most NSW beverage containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres in volume are eligible for a 10-cent refund with some exceptions.

• Beverage suppliers (manufacturers, importers, wholesalers or retailers) that first supply eligible drink containers in NSW are responsible for funding refunds and associated Scheme costs.

• More than 500 collection points will be established by the Network Operator, TOMRA Cleanaway, and rolled out across the State, including priority collection areas in metropolitan and regional locations.